Internal-combustion engine



Apr. 10, 1923.

W. A. GILE INTERNAL bomsusmon ENGINE I Filed Aug. 26, 1922' msww 4 sheets-sheet l Apf.l0,1923. f mswm W. A. GILE INTERNAL 'COMBUST ION ENGINE F iled Aug. 2a, 1922 4 sheets-sheet 2 W. A. GILE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Fi led Aug. 26, 1922 4 sheets-sheet 3 VIII/I.

Apr. 10, 1192.3.

W. A. GILE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed Aug. 26, 1922 4 sheets-sheet 4 Patented Apr. 10, i923.

Mdhtlti Parana cri ics.

WILLIAM A. GILE, OF STONEI-IAM, TVQASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOB TO GILE ENGINE COMPANY, OF BOSTON, TaIASSACI-EUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

Application filed August 26, 1922.

To aZZ whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, VJILLTAM A. GILE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident ot Stoneham, in the county of Middleses-z and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Internal-- Combustion Engines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to internal combustion engines and more especially to single acting engines of the combined pump and motor-cylinder type, and its object is to pro-- vide a simple and eihcient means actuated directly by the main crank for controlling the motion of the sub-piston positively throughout the entire cycle with a minimum of friction.

In my application Serial No. 96,421 filed May 16, 1916, I described means actuated directly by the main crank for controlling the motion of the sub-piston positively throughout the entire cycle in such manner that the sub-piston travelled in contact with the power piston until the sub-piston 25 reached substantially the end of its power stroke or at least for a substantial portion of the power stroke of the power piston, and subsequently movedv in the opposite direction thereby drawing; in fresh charge of fuel and ecting the burnt gases of the pre vious explosion.

By means of the present invention which is an improvement on that disclosed in my application aforesaid, the same movements of piston and sub-piston are created by mechanism which may be constructed more economically and operated with less friction for the reason that the angles between the various links, rods and arms of the mechanism actuated directly by the main crank for controlling the motion of the subpiston are less acute than in the case or" the engine described in my earlier application.

lVit-h the foregoing objects in view, my invention comprises a mechanism actuated directly by the crank for causing the power piston and the subpistorr to travel in con tact until the sub-piston reaches substantially the end of its power stroke, or at least throughout a substantial portion or" such power stroke, such mechanism involving a link pivotally connected at one end to the sub-piston rod and rhesus i or guiding the Serial no. 584,455.

other end of said link preferably rectillnearly together with other means for limitin g the rectilinear or other movement thereof as distinguished from the mechanism of my prior application in which the end of the corresponding link is pivotally connected to the engine: frame. My invention involves also a slidable spring-pressed pivotal connection between. the sub-piston rod and the link above mentioned, whereby any lost motion due to wear in the bearings may be taken up so that the sub-)iston will be held firmly against the power piston during the power stroke, together with various other improvements hereinafter more fully set forth.

An. illustrative embodiment of my invention is shown in the accompanying drawinns in which:

Fig. l is an elevation of an internal combustion engine embodying my improvements, certain parts being shown in central vertical section;

F 2 is an elevation as viewed from a point ninety degrees from the plane of Figure 1;

Figures to 12 inclusive are diagrams showing the positions of the moving parts at various points in the cycle.

In the particular drawings selected for more fully disclosing my invention, 20 represents the crank case in which the main crank 21 is journalled. Bolted to said case is a cylinder 22 in which the power piston 23 and sub-piston 24 are arranged to reciprocate. The combustion chamber end of the cylinder is counterbored as shown at 25 in the manner described in detail in U. S. Letters Patent. No. 1,335,329 issued March 30, 1920 on the application of F. H. Gile, for the purpose of obtaining perfect mixing of the gaseous fuel and complete combustion thereof.

The power piston is pivotally connected by the double pitman 26, 26 to the crank pin 2? of the crank 28, which is provided with a counterbalance 29 secured thereto by the screws 30. It will be noted that the main crank 21 is offset a short distance to the left of the. longitudinal axis of the cylinder.

The sub-piston 24 which is relatively light. imper'forate and valveless arranged between the power piston and the combustion chamber It, and is provided with a rod 3? passing through a longitudinal bore in the central core 31 of the power piston. lower end of the sub-piston rod is pivoted to the link 32 bymeans of a slidable springpressed pivotal connection, said connection consisting in the present instance of pin 33 inserted in a bearing provided with the bushing 34. in the head 35 of said link 32, through a bore in which pin the reduced end portion of said rod 31 passes, a collar 37 beinginterposed between said pin and a shoulder on said rod, and the collar -38 provided with the flange 39 bet-ween the lower portion of said pin and the spiral spring it),

the tension of which spring may be adjusted by means of the nut 41. threaded to the lower end of the reduced portion 36 of said sub.- piston rod.

The other end of the link 32 is pivotally connected at 4.2 to a plug 4L3 which. in the present instance is slotted to receive aid end of said link, and a cap i l is bolted or otherwise secured to the engine frame for receivinc; said plug and guiding the same rectilinearly, the head of said plug preferably being; perforated as shown at 45 in order to prevent compression of air in the space between its outer face and the inner face of i the cap. At the point 4:6. intermediate the ends of said link 32, a shorter link t? is pivoted thereto, and the other end thereof pivoted to the engine frame at 41-8, the said linl: 4:? serving: as a means for limiting the reciprocating movel'nent of the plug $3, at though obviously other means may be employed for this purpose. The upper and lower portions of the head 35 of the link are slotted as shown at $9, 49 to permit of free arcuate movement of said linli with reagainst the hub 56 of the cross-shaft 57 which has its hearings in the studs 58, 58 arranged in the bosses 59, 59, although obviously I do not limit myself to this construction. The upper ends of the arms 51 are bored to receive the pin 60, the ends of which extend laterally from said arms and. the enlarged central portion 61 of which having its center at the point 53 affords a bearing: for the hub of the rod 50. A bolt (32 passes through the arms 51 and the enlarged central portion 61 of said pin to prevent the latter from turnin with respect to said arms. The lower ends of the arms 63 are pivotally connected to the pins 60, the center of which is shown at G l. the angle between the points 53, 54 and (it being The.

in the present instance approximately five degrees, and the upper ends of said 63 are connected by the hubs 65, 65 to the Wrist pin 27 of the crank shaft, between the crank arms 28 and the be 66 of the double pitman 26, the center of such connection being; indicated at 67, while the center of the connection of the pitman to the wrist pin is shown at 68, the angle between the points 67, 69 which is the center of the main shaft 21 and 68 being approximately five degrees, so that, as the direction of rotation is cloclr wise, the crank shaft has a lead of five degrees over the arms 63, The upper end of the pitman 26 is articulated to the stud 70 arranged in sosses on the interior walls of the power piston.

The cylinder is provided wit-h an intake port 71, and an exhaustport 72, the latter being controlled by the exhaust valve 7?; actuated at the proper times by mechanism which is well understood and constitutes no part of my invention.

An explosion of the compressed charge in the combustion chamber A acts directly on the head of the subpiston and by the latter is communicated. to the power piston. it is absolutely necessary that the two pistons shall travel at the same rate of speed without the slightest relative movement until the sub-piston shall have covere the inner end of the counterbore 25 for the reason that a portion of the effect of the explosion would be exerted against the lower face of said subpiston in opposition to the force exerted on.

the upper face thereof if the power piston began to move away from the sub-piston before the latter had covered the inner end of said counterbore. It is essential also that the two pistons should travel in contact at the same rate of speed until substantially the end of the power stroke, or until shortly aft er the opening of the exhaust valve. thermore, it essential that the subsequent relative movement bet-ween the two pistons be created positively, and in fact that the sub-piston should be controlled positively throughout the entire cycle. The positive control of the sub-piston and the positive relative movement thereof with respect to the power piston is created by the in crank 28. which communicates the necessary motion to the sub-piston through the arms 63 and the rocker arm 51., the rod and the link 32. The operation of these elements will be explained by reference to Figures 1. to L9 inclusive on which the several moving parts are indicated by lines identified by reference numerals corresponding to those used on Figures 1. and 2 and provided with exponents to designate the successive positions of said parts. d

When both. pistons are at the upper ends of their strokes (explosion position) as shown in Figures 1 and 3 and the charge Furcompressed in the combustion chamber, the valve 73 being closed, the charge is fired and the resulting explosion causes both pistons to descend at the same initial rate of speed without any relative movement until the crank, which rotates in the direction of the arrow, has passed from its initial position 28 (Figure 3) through the intermediate positions 28, degrees) and 28 degrees) to a few degrees past 28, 90 de grees). The oscillation of the rocker arms 51 in a clockwise direction draws the link 32 downwardly through the intermediary of the rod 50 and causes the end thereof, pivoted at 42 to the plug 43 to move rectilinea-rly to the right until the link 47 is in line with the link 32, a few degrees beyond the position indicated in Figure 5, whereupon further rotation of the crank causes said plug to move toward the left until. the centers 6d, 67 and 69, are in line a few degrees beyond the position indicated in Figure 7 and the rocker arm 51 has its lowermost position, whereupon said plug again travels to the right until the links 37 and 82 are again in line a few degrees beyond the position shown in Figure 9, when further rotation of the crank causes said plug again to move to the left until it again assumes its initial position. Shortly after the crank has passed the position 28, the sub-piston has reached the end of its down-stroke just below 24 and the exhaust valve 72-3 opens practically simultaneously with or preferably shortly before this point has been reached, so that when the power piston begins to draw away from the sub-piston as indicated in Figure 7, there will be but little pressure exerted on the upper face of said sub-piston. When the sub-piston reaches the end of its down-stroke, its lower face and the upper face of the power piston are practically in line with the fuel inlet. The power piston continues its descent, the crank passing through the positions 28 (115 degrees) and 28 (145 degrees) to 28 (180 degrees), until it reaches the end of its down-stroke (Figure 9), but immediately after the crank arrived at its position 28 and while the power piston was descending from 23 to 23 the sub-piston began to ascend, the rocker arms being rotated counterclockwise by the movement of the crank beyond its 115 degree position shown in Figure 7, thereby forcing the rod 50 upwardly, so that in the position of the parts represented in Figure 9, the power piston is momentarily stationary and the sub-piston is moving upwardly. The relative movement of the two pistons between t 115 and 180 degree positions of the crank creates a vacuum or a partial vacuum in the space between the same and a charge of fuel is drawn into said space. Simultaneously with the drawing in of such charge, the upstroke of the sub-piston mechanically expels the burnt gases of the preceding er losion through the exhaust passage 72, the exhaust valve 73 having been opened shortly before the commencement of the rip-stroke of the sub-piston, above pointed out.

The crank continues its clockwise rotation to the position indicated in Figure 10 (225 degrees) and the continued counter clockwise movement of the rocker arm 51 acting on the link 32 through the intermediary of the rod 50 causes the sub-piston to assumethe position 24 just below its explosion position whereby the induction of the fresh charge and the mechanical expulsion of the spent gases are completed. When the crank arrives at position 28 (270 degrees), the sub-piston has reached its explosion position, the counterbore is uncovered and the power piston having covered the intake port shortly before the crank arrived at its 270 degree position, the contiued upward movement of said power piston compresses the charge in the space between its upper face and the lower face of tie sub-piston, said charge passing through the annular space between the counterbored head of-the cylinder and the sub-piston in a thin cylindrical sheet, thereby effecting the complete mixing of the same as more fully set forth in Letters Patent No. 1,335,329 above mentioned. Yl hile the crank is passing from its position 28 to its initial position through the intermediate position 2S (315 degrees), the subpiston remains practically stationary, that is to say, as soon as the points 52, 53, 54 are in line, the sub-piston will have reached a point very slightly higher than its explosion position, as soon as the continued rotation of the crank causes a slight counterclockwise rotation of the rocker arm, the sub-piston settles back a small fraction of an inch, the rod 50 moving slightly downwardly, and as soon as the points 64, 69, and 67 are in line, a few degrees after the crank position 28% the resulting clockwise oscillation of the rocker arm will produce a slight upward, and finally a slight downward, movement of the sub-piston which ends when explosion position is reached and the crank is at upper dead center, the two pistons being in contact at that point as shown in Figure 3.

lit will be noted that by virtue of the location of the center of oscillation 5d of the arm 51 and the general arrangement of the other elements, as distinguished from the construction shown in my application above referred to, the angles betwen the rod 50 and the rocker arm, as well as between the arm 63 and said rocker arm, are always more obtuse than in the case of the angles between the corresponding members shown in said application. which results in more econon'iical operation on account of the greatly reduced friction between the several parts of the sub-piston control mechanism,

Hill

ll l

and also in less movement of the sub-piston (lllllllg the rotation 01 the crank from its position 28 to its initial position.

li hcn the upstroke oil the power piston completed. ignition occurs and the cycle is repeated, there being; one explosion at the end of every rip-stroke or one per revolution of the crank shaft.

While l have rilescribcd in detail the relative movement of the parts which I have found to be satisfactory in practice, it will be understood that I do not limit myself specifically thereto, tor said parts may be variously adjusted and timed and other cycles may he el'lected.

l laving thu articnlarly described an illustrative cnibo iinent of my invention without however limiting the same thereto, what l claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. An ii'iternal combustion engine comprisinn cylinder. a POWQ. piston and an imeriorate subpiston both arranged to reciproeate within said cylinder, said sub-piston being located between the combustion chamher and said power piston, a rod for said sub-piston, a main shaft provided with a crank, means for controlling said subpiston positively throughout the entire cycle, said means comprising a link, a slidablc, spring;- pressed. pivotal connection between said rod and said link. a member connecting said means directly to said crank, and means pivotally connecting); said power piston to said crank.

2. An internal combustion engine comprising a cylinder, a power piston and an imperitorate sub piston both arranged to reciprocate within said cylinder, a rod for said Flll3-PlSlO1L a main shatt having a crank, and means actuated directly by said crank for causing said pistons to travel at the same rate of speed until the sub-piston reaches substantially the end of its power stroke and 'l or causing, subsequently, positive relative movement between the same, said means comprising; a link and a slidable, springpressed. pivotal. connection between said rod and said link.

An internal combustion engine comprisinn; a cylinder, a power piston and an impertorate sub-piston both arranged to reciprocate within said cylinder, said sub-piston being located between the combustion chamber and said power piston. a rod for said sub-piston, a main shaft provided with a crank, means for controlling; said sub-piston positively tlllTillg'limlt the entire cy irlc, said means comprising a link, pivotal connection between said rod and one end of said link, means for raiding the other end of said link rectilinearly a member-connecting said means directly to said crank, and means pivotally connecting said power piston to said crank.

ton being; located between the combustion chamber and said power piston, a rod for s id sub-piston a main shaft provided with a cra'nl-t, means controlling said sub-piston positively throughout the entire cycle, said ill-(321125 comprising a link, a pivotal connection between said rod and one end of said link, means for guiding the other end of said link rectilinearly, means for limiting the rectilinear .movement of saidend of said link, a rocker arm, a rod pivotally connecti np; said link and said rocker arm, a member pivotally connecting said rocker arm directly to said crank, and means pivotally connecting said power piston to said crank.

5.3111 internal combustion engine coinprising a cylinder provided with a combust in tion chamber one end only, an imperioratc sub-piston and a power piston b i arranged to reciprocate within said cylinder, said sub-piston having a single h rad located between said conilnistion chamber and said power piston a rod for said sub-piston, a main shaft having; a crank, means for cans inn; the sub-pistonto travel in contact with the power piston during a substantial portion of the power stroke and for causing, subsequently, positive relative movement be tween said pistons, said means comprising a link pivotally connected at one end to said rod, cap, a plug arranged to reciprocate in said cap, means pivotally connecting the other end of said link to said plug, means limiting the reciprocating movement of said plug. a rod pivotally connected to said link, rocker arn'i pivotelly connected to said rod, an pivotally connecting said rocker arm to said crank, and means pivotally connect inn said crank to said power piston.

(3. An internal combustion engine comprising: a cylinder provided with combustion chamber at one and only, aniinperiorate sub-piston and a power piston both arranged to reciprocate within said cylinder, said subiiston having single head located between said combustion chamber and said power piston. rod fo said @sulrpiston, a main shaft having crank, means for causing the sub-piston to travel in contact with the power piston during a substantial portion of the power stroke .(l for causing, subsequently, positive relative movement between said, pistons, said means comprising a link. al connection between said rod and one end oi said link. means guiding the other end of said link rectilinearlv, means limiting the rectiii ear n'iovernent of said end of said link. a rocker arm having one end pivoted to the engine frame. a rod pivotally connected. at one end to said link. an arm pivotally and eccentrically connected at one end to iii said crank shaft, and means pivotally connecting the other ends of said rod and arm at different points to the other end of said rocker arm.

7. An internal combustion engine com.- prising' a cylinder provided with a combustion chamber at one end only, an imperiorate sub-piston and a power piston both arranged to reciprocate within said cylinder, said sub-piston having a single head located between said combustion chamber and said power piston, a rod for said sub-piston, a main shaft having a crank, said main shaft being oiiset from the longitudinal axis of said cylinder, means for causing the subpiston to tr vel in contact with the power piston during a substantial portion of the power stroke and for causin subsequently, positive relative movement between said pistons, and a member connecting said means directly to said crank.

8. An internal combustion engine comprising acylinder, a power piston and an imperforate sub-piston both arranged to re ciprocate within said cylinder, a rod for said sub-piston, main shaft having a crank, and means actuated directly by said crank for causing said sub-piston to travel in contact with said power piston during a substantial portion of the power stroke and for causing subsequently positive relative movement between said pistons, said means comprising a link and a slidable, spring-pressed, pivotal connection between said rod and said link.

9. An internal combustion engine comprising a cylinder, a power piston and an im perforate sub-piston both arranged to re ciprocate within said cylinder, said sub-piston being located between the combustion chamber and said power piston, a rod for said subpiston, a main shaft provided with crank, means for controlling said sub-pis ton positively throughout the entire cycle, said means comprising a link, a pivotal con nection between said rod and one end 01": said link, the other end or" said link being movable with respect to the engine frame, means for guiding the movable end of said link, a member connecting said means directly to said crank, and means pivot-ally connecting said power piston to said crank.

10. An internal combustion engine comprising a cylinder, a power piston and an iinperitorate sub-piston both arranged to reciprocate within said cylinder, said sub-piston being located between the combustion chamber and said power piston, a rod for said sub-piston, a main shaft provided with a crank, means for controlling said sub-piston positively throughout the entire cycle, said means comprising; a link, a pivotal connection between said rod and one end of said link, the other end of said link being); movable with respect to the engine frame, means for guiding the movable end of said link, means for limiting the movement of said end of said link, a rocker arm, a rod pivotally connecting; said link and said rocker arm, a member pivotally connecting said rocker arm directly to said crank. and means pivotally connecting said power piston to said crank.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 25th day of August 1922.

WILLIAM A. GILE. 

